In My Footsteps: A Gen-X Nostalgia Podcast

Episode 146: Me v. AI - Underrated New England Towns, TVs Bloopers & Practical Jokes, Blink & You'll Miss It Retro Part 2, Ford Model T(5-29-2024)

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A new battle for supremacy with AI. A time before bloopers and practical jokes went viral. TV shows that were here and gone in the blink of an eye.
Episode 146 ushers in the unofficial start of summer with plenty of blistering nostalgia.
It kicks off with the return of Blink & You'll Miss It Retro. In this installment, we look at a six-pack of television shows that were here and gone before you knew they had arrived.  Included is a pretty good rant on what is considered one of the worst shows ever made.
We go way Back In the Day to the time before fails were viral sensations. In the 1980s television shows dedicated to mistakes and mishaps of celebrities were brand new. We will look back at an originator, TVs Bloopers and Practical Jokes hosted by Dick Clark and Ed McMahon.
It's another battle for supremacy as we return with a Me v. AI Top 5. This time it is a look at underrated cities and towns in New England. Perfect timing for the unofficial kickoff of summer. You can be the judge as to who has better picks between your host and ChatGPT.
There is a brand new This Week In History and Time Capsule centered around the very last Ford Model T automobile to roll off the assembly line.
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Speaker 00:

Hello world, and welcome to the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund, coming to you from the vacation destination known as Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and this is episode 146. Memorial Day weekend is here. Hopefully wherever you are, the weather is amazing. And this podcast will be a part of the fun and festivities for the weekend. We're going to kick it off with Blink and You'll Miss It Retro Part 2. This is going to have to do with TV shows that came and went way before they had a chance to make an impact. We're going to go way, way back in the day and look at one of my favorite shows as a kid growing up. That being bloopers and practical jokes. There's going to be a brand new top five. It's the return of me versus AI top five. As we compare notes on the top five underrated New England cities and towns. And there'll be a brand new This Week in History and Time Capsule centered around the end of the Model T Ford. All of that is coming up right now on episode 146 of the In My Footsteps podcast. Well, what does everybody want to talk about this week? Memorial Day weekend, the impending end of school for kids that are in school, or maybe a whole bunch of fun Gen X nostalgia. I think we'll go with that mostly. I would say this podcast is going to be action-packed, but it's still me talking into a microphone, so I'll say it'll be very fun and informative. I wanted to give a big thanks to everybody who came out to my searching for the Lady of the Dunes event at the West Dennis Library last Friday from when this podcast goes live. If you've never been to one of my events for any of my books, obviously I try to keep them updated here for you to know if you're in the area. The next one is July the 19th at the Osterville Library. I'm dusting off a classic as I talk about my Cape Cod Nights book, which is all about Cape Cod nightlife, bars, nightclubs, all that fun stuff that the people that experienced it don't remember because they were hammered. Special shout out to my Patreon subscribers, Leo, Laurie, Mary Lou, and Ashley. $5 a month gets you access to bonus episodes of the podcast, early access to the main show, early access to YouTube videos. and you are my guinea pigs for all of my projects that I'm brainstorming, such as the Initial Impressions 2.0 blog being made into a podcast. I figure those on Patreon that are actually subscribing would be my most captive audience, so I can unleash that kind of stuff on them. This Saturday, June 1st, the latest bonus episode of the podcast goes live on Patreon. They are me going over a pair of blogs that I wrote in the initial impressions blogs, the originals, 2010 to 2012. There's a lot of me deciphering my random predictions and cryptic posts. And every now and then there's actually something informative. I know, shocking. I'm also starting to do more things on the free tier of Patreon, where you don't even have to subscribe. You don't have to be a member. You just have to go to the site, patreon.com slash inmyfootstepspodcast. Thus far, 2024 has been the year of the Gen X retro content on the podcast. I love it. I'm going to keep up with that. Kicking off this week's podcast proper with Blinkin' You'll Miss It Retro Part 2. These are some TV shows that came and went before you had a chance to even realize they were there. So let's crack open a six pack of retro coming up right now. In the world of television, there are very few shows, honestly, that change the world. Then there are other shows that have a long stay, are popular. Then there are a lot more that are hit or miss. They're on for a few seasons. Maybe they start off hot and fade away. You can see we're working our way down the ladder. Then you get to the bottom, the shows that are here and gone so fast that you have no idea they were even there. That is the topic of Blink and You'll Miss It Retro Part 2. These are TV shows that came and went in the blink of an eye, so you probably missed it. Back in episode 137, I did the debut of Blink and You'll Miss It Retro, six-pack, six different topics to talk about. That first one was food-related, and here we're going to crack open some TV shows. I'll be honest, out of these six, there's only one that I remember, and I must have just been watching TV at the right time to catch this show before it was immediately canceled. I would think most of you out there listening would have had the chance to watch one of these shows if you had chosen to. So there's no cheats here where it's shows that were on the air for one episode in 1948. These are all pretty recent. In the late 1970s, one of the most popular... recurring segments on Saturday Night Live was The Coneheads. It was about a family of extraterrestrials, the husband and wife, Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin, from their planet Remulak. They literally had coneheads, and it was great. They had a lot of their own language, and it was a fish-out-of-water story, but the early days of SNL, so it was just classic. It's one of the most well-known segments ever on the show. In 1993, they made a bit of a comeback with the Coneheads movie. And yes, I will say I saw that in the theater. The movie was 35% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, so it's rotten. And it made just over $21 million on a budget of $30 million. So it was a big-time box office fail. But the film version of Coneheads was not the biggest fail when it came to this franchise. That was the Coneheads cartoon that was out in 1983. This show debuted as a pilot on October 14th, 1983. Animated, it was voiced by the actual voice actors, Dan Aykroyd, Jane Curtin, Lorraine Newman as their daughter, Connie. I can't really find a reason why this didn't take off, why it wasn't a hit. Maybe it didn't translate to being animated. There is some talk that there was a really obnoxious laugh track that went with this show. It literally was one episode. Here's the pilot, nope, grand opening, grand closing. If you want to watch the pilot episode of the Coneheads cartoon, you can find it for free everywhere. YouTube, archive.org, which is where I find a lot of good old stuff. Yep, Coneheads failed as a movie, failed as a cartoon, but we'll always have the old SNL skits. The next show here, we don't even have SNL skits for. Did you remember the Quiz Kids Challenge from 1990? Naturally, this was a game show centered around kids. The show was based loosely on older Quiz Kids shows that were on radio and TV in the 1940s and 50s. But it differed because there were three kids between the ages of 12 and 14 that would be battling three adults. It was similar to Jeopardy in that there were different categories with the questions there. There was a triple play question, double or nothing round. There ended up being a viewer's choice category. It seems like it would be intriguing, but I also think that this concept was lost in a whole series of game shows that came out. It said that Quiz Kids Challenge was one of five different game shows that debuted in syndication in the fall of 1990. This is one of those shows that had a lot of episodes. It was on for a total of 16 weeks and 80 episodes. So it's kind of a cheat with the blink and you'll miss it where Coneheads had one episode. But despite that, do any of you remember the Quiz Kids Challenge? It was pretty much on in the fall of 1990 and that was it and it was gone. They've had other kids versus adults game shows. Are you smarter than a fifth grader? Things like that. I can tell you being in that age group that would have been on that show, there were plenty of other game shows that I would have chosen to watch had I known that this show was even on. What happens when a successful deli owner doesn't have any heirs of his own to inherit his deli business? Why hire his housekeeper's children to help him run it? That's the fascinating plot line behind the next show, Singer and Sons, also from 1990. Boy, what a good year that was. It starred Harold Gould as Nathan Singer, a Jewish deli owner. and Esther Rolle as his housekeeper. The hilarity ensues when the two young African-American men try to help this older Jewish man run his deli. It's a fish out of water, a clash of cultures, whatever you want to call it. It lasted for a whopping four episodes in June and July of 1990. It was brought on as a mid-season replacement that then needed to be replaced. The way I end up finding a lot of this blink and you'll miss it retro content is because I like to binge watch these old commercials compilations a lot of times after I've popped an edible. And I believe that the Quiz Kids Challenge and Singer and Sons were in the same batch of commercials. When you've got a campy kind of musical comedy that was a success in the 60s, why not try to replicate it in the 80s with none of the music, none of the heart, and none of the comedy? That's our fourth entrant here, and the only one that I remember was the New Monkees.

Speaker 01:

Yeah!

Speaker 00:

Oh my god, if you don't remember this, and I don't blame you if you don't, it was the stupidest of stupid attempts at rebooting a show. It's kind of the same idea as the original monkey show that was out in the mid to late 1960s. Four young aspiring pop musicians looking for stardom. But this was not Davy Jones, Mickey Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork. Oh no. This was Larry, Jared, Marty, and Dino. I don't even care what their last names were. They don't deserve them. This show had 13 total episodes. I don't know if they all aired. I remember seeing one and also seeing one of the trailer commercials for it where these four idiots are standing in the desert and one of them says, whoa, low tide. Even me at nine years old, I thought that was so just cringe. Yeah, that was just terrible. If you go to the IMDB page about new monkeys, the featured review, the first one, says this was a horrible show, the worst show ever made. I kind of second that. Speaking of musicals... What could be better than the musical comedy about a widower, mayor of a small town, and his two kids. One's a civil rights attorney and one's a hippie. Ooh, the clashes are there in this classic show. His Honor from 1979. Meet His Honor. His staff. His kids. First time I ever saw sparks fly from jam. Premieres Thursday on NBC. This is one word. H-I-Z-Z-O-N-N-E-R. What the hell kind of name for a show is that? I get that it's a play on his honor like a judge, but this show lasted for a whopping seven episodes between May and June 1979. And basically every time there was some kind of a problem on the show, Mayor Cooper would break into a song to deal with it. Emmy award-winning actor, David Huddleston starred in it, wrote it, produced it. So basically he funded this whole thing and it just bombed. You could say there was no honor for his honor. Thank you. I would see myself out, but we got one more left to go in the six pack blink and you'll miss it. Retro TV shows. You thought my joke was bad there. What about the name of this show? Small and Fry from 1983.

Speaker 02:

This

Speaker 00:

was a Walt Disney produced show that lasted a total of six episodes between March and June of 1983. And I know you're dying to know the premise behind that super hilariously named show. Nick Small and Chip Fry are private investigators. Due to a lab accident, Fry is able to shrink to six inches tall, which sometimes helps and sometimes doesn't help in their investigations. I don't know. I would have been five years old when this came out. I don't even know if I would have thought as a five-year-old kid that it was a fun show. You imagine the pitch meeting for that? Ooh, I got a name. Small and Fry. Ugh, boy, that's terrible. And then it got green-lighted. I couldn't find any ratings reports for any of these shows just to see how badly they did. I would assume that since they basically all were done within a few episodes, that naturally the ratings weren't good, and none of these were... critically praised but didn't get ratings. They were all pretty much critically panned. People didn't watch. And then they were just gone. So we've emptied the cans on the six-pack of Blink and You'll Miss It Retro Part 2 with TV shows. I'll be bringing this segment back every now and then. When I get a good six-pack worth of topics to talk about, I gotta wait and have patience. Not everything can be as good as New Monkeys and His Honor. If you really want, I'll put links to some of these shows in the description of the podcast, but I don't think you really want that. I think you'd rather forget about these shows as quickly as this segment ends right now. This week in history, we are going back 97 years ago this week to May 26th, 1927, and the very last Ford Model T car rolling off the line. In the annals of automotive history, there are very few vehicles that hold as much significance and have as great a legacy as the Ford Model T. I think it's safe to say that it was the first iconic vehicle ever made in the United States. It was first introduced in 1908 by the Ford Motor Company that was the brainchild of pioneer Henry Ford. And this vehicle, the Model T, it was a catalyst for change. It transformed the way that people lived and worked and traveled. Because prior to the introduction of the Model T, automobiles were considered luxury items. Only the wealthy elite could afford it. And that's where Henry Ford came in. He was looking to change that by making a car that was durable and practical, but most importantly, affordable to most people. The revolutionary aspect of the Ford Model T went hand-in-hand with how it was manufactured, with Henry Ford implementing the moving assembly line. This was what drastically cut down production time and costs, and this thus made it accessible to a wider audience. Naturally, being in the early 1900s, the Model T was a simple design, but it had rugged construction, making it well-suited to the rough terrain and the unpaved roads of the U.S. at the time. There was no asphalt. It was all dirt roads and gravel and potholes. The actual specifics, the nuts and bolts of the Model T, it boasted a powerful 20-horsepower engine. which made it capable of reaching top speeds of 45 miles an hour, which in all reality was really impressive for that time, 1908. The first Model Ts that rolled off the assembly line were initially priced around $850, or just a shade under $29,000 when adjusted for inflation to 2024. I just did a little quick checking, and the average cost of a new car in 2024 is right around $47,000. And that's a lot, but I think that takes into account all luxury vehicles, hybrid vehicles, electric vehicles that kind of skew the line. The influence of the Model T wasn't confined to the United States. Henry Ford's innovative manufacturing techniques were adopted worldwide, which then started to revolutionize industries far beyond just automotive. These Model Ts, as they grew in numbers as more people owned them, they became a symbol of progress and kind of a symbol of America. Go back to any silent film from the 1910s or 20s, and you'll probably find a Model T in there if they're using any vehicles. It really changed how people lived in this country. It allowed people to live further from their workplaces, so it started to spur the development of suburbs. It revolutionized commerce by enabling efficient transportation of goods. It even played a role in shaping American culture, like I said, in movies, songs, literature, art. By the time of the last Model T rolling off the assembly line in 1927, more than 15 million of them had been sold. Naturally, it was eventually surpassed by other vehicles that were more modern, but its influence can be seen in every car that followed. The Ford Model T stands as a testament to the power of innovation and determination, transforming the automotive industry, helping shape the modern world. The Ford Model T was a symbol of progress, ingenuity, and the indomitable spirit of the human endeavor. And the final one ever produced rolled off the assembly line 97 years ago this week in history. Now it's time for a brand new time capsule. We're going back 48 years ago this week to May 31st, 1976. Let's see what was going on in the world of pop culture back then. The number one song was Love Hangover by Diana Ross. This was off of her self-titled album. Diana Ross had been known as a Motown singer with the Supremes in the late 1960s, and by the time Love Hangover hit number one, she had thoroughly reinvented herself as a disco diva. And this was her fourth number one song, which at the time was the most by any solo female artist. The number one movie was The Man Who Fell to Earth, and you could get into the theater with a ticket costing $2.13. This is a British sci-fi drama starring David Bowie as an alien who crash lands on Earth and tries to find a way to ship water back to his home planet. This movie was based on a novel, and there have actually been two TV series based on it that came out later. It wasn't a major hit. It's got a cult following. but it did double its budget, making $3 million on a budget of $1.5. The number one TV show was Starsky and Hutch. This was an action crime series. Partners David Starsky and Kenneth Hutch Hutchinson. The show was on for four seasons and 93 episodes between 1975 and 79. It starred David Soule and Paul Michael Glazer as the two main characters. And it's known just as much for their informant Huggy Bear, played by Antonio Fargus. And if you were around back then, May 31st, 1976, you're in need of all kinds of random things for the house or for the kids, but you don't want to spend a lot of money, well, you're in luck. You can get all kinds of random stuff at Kmart's special 14-cent sale. I don't know why they chose that number. crayons, Cracker Jacks with the prize, terrycloths, dishcloths, Wyler's drink mixes, Tic Tacs, books of matches, and the best, little cans of Brunswick's salted herring. For some reason it says limit four boxes. Were people going to buy tons and tons of salted herring? Ugh, God. Well, get yourself some of the other stuff. Get the Weiler's drink mix to wash down the herring. That wraps up another time capsule, another This Week in History. But as Memorial Day weekend is here, maybe you're looking to come visit New England. You don't want to visit all the same places that everyone goes to. Well, you're going to get two sets of top five coming up now. Me versus AI, underrated New England cities and towns. Let's see who's got a better list coming up right now. Ah, yes. It's time for the return of the fabulous, beloved segment, Me vs. AI Top 5. We're going to take a single subject. I'm going to give you my top five picks. Then we're going to go to ChatGPT and see what they think. And because it's Memorial Day weekend, the unofficial kickoff of summer... I thought we'd throw it back a little to some New England travel and look at the top five underrated New England cities and towns. I figured this would be a perfect time to bring back the me versus AI concept because I've got my top five picks and they were pretty easy to come up with centered around my own personal likes. And then I started thinking, I wonder what AI would choose as places that people should go and visit in New England. And a little bit of a spoiler, as much as I'd want to make fun of AI, like I did last time we did this segment, which was for 1980s professional wrestlers, and theirs were somewhat inaccurate, I guess. AI didn't do a bad job with these. I'll just say that. Because we're doing me and AI doing top fives, there won't be any honorable mentions for either. But I'll start off with my top five, then we'll do chat GPT, and you can be the judge as to who's got the better top five. So let me start off with number one, Machias, Maine. This is a small town in down east Maine. Their population is just over 2,000. Back in episode 111, I did a full road trip segment on Machias, Maine. So I'm not going to dive too deep into it because it's not possible for this top five. But you can go check that segment out if you want. My favorite thing about Machias is that I've said that as you're driving Route 1, And you get past Portland. Route 1 basically becomes kind of a rural road. Brings you all the way out to Lubeck, which is the furthest east you can go in the United States. Machias is kind of the last bastion of civilization until you get to Lubeck. It's really wide open. Bad little falls. That's a great little park. There's a waterfall. It's pretty loud for being in the middle of town. Machias has an annual blueberry festival that's actually coming up in August, so you could go to it. You can take a charter boat out to Machias Seal Island, see the puffin birds. It's great for hiking, cycling. I passed through it once when going to Lubeck, and I liked it so much that I made that kind of a home base the next time I went to Lubeck. Number two is Rockport, Massachusetts. one of the hidden gems of the Massachusetts North Shore. I'm sure some of you listening know Rockport. You probably visited Rockport. This is an underrated list, though. So even though you know it, I feel this place doesn't get the attention it deserves. It's right next to Gloucester, which is one of my favorite places in all of New England. So I could see where people would skip over Rockport to go to Gloucester. Rockport's got a population of just under 7,000, so it's another small town. Its big claim to fame is Bearskin Neck, which it's kind of a collection of outdoor shops. It's highly popular during the summer, so if you go this time of year, you'll probably see a lot of crowds. This is also the area that has the famous Motif No. 1 fishing shack that's red, covered with buoys. It's one of the most photographed and painted spots in the country, I would say. There's lots of beaches. There's fun rock outcroppings. One that's really great overlooks the Thatcher Island Twin Lighthouses. It's got that beautiful classic Massachusetts coastline downtown area. Easily walkable in that area. Much like Machias. It's fun to just park and walk. There's even the fabulously odd... Rockport Paper House, a house made of paper that's just over a century old. Even the furniture inside is made out of paper. So Rockport's definitely a good choice. Number three is New London, New Hampshire. When I think of underrated, this town comes to mind and I think I'm partial to it because the first ever overnight trip I did when I was travel writing back in 2010 was to New London, New Hampshire. Back then, I'll be honest, I don't remember why I chose that as kind of my home base for that trip. It's got a population of just over 4,400. It's the home to Colby Sawyer College. So it's a college town, but it's a small town, really wide open spaces up in the mountains. There's great hiking. Nearby, there's Lake Sunapee, Mount Sunapee, so you can ski. And again, it's a very beautiful, walkable downtown. There's a beautiful village green. If you like busy, high, fast-paced cities, you're not going to like New London. If you like the laid-back, spread-out, just beautiful nature, small-town New Hampshire, then you're going to love this. Number four is Jamestown, Rhode Island. Technically, this is an island, so I think a lot of people have to take the bridges. You have to take two bridges, one to get on, one to get off, and a lot of people just take those bridges to pass by. Another small town. Boy, I'm sensing a theme here. Population's just over 5,500. Obviously, in the summertime, it's busier. A lot of seasonal restaurants open up, seasonal resorts, hotels. There's golf. At the southern tip, there's Beavertail Lighthouse, which is the main reason I first went to Jamestown. Back in episode 76, I did a deep dive, a full road trip segment on Jamestown, Rhode Island, so you can check that out to get more details. There's so many places for photography on Jamestown Island. That's what drew me to it in the first place. So instead of passing over the two bridges, stop and take a little time to enjoy Jamestown. And finally for me, my number five underrated New England city and town is Stockbridge, Massachusetts. This here is a throwback to the very first episode of the podcast. The very first road trip segment I did was Stockbridge, Massachusetts. The population is just a tick over 2,000 people. It's out there in the Berkshires, western Massachusetts. This has one of the best main streets, downtown areas to walk. It was my first stop that I did on my six-day, 2,100-mile road trip I did in the fall of 2019. I went straight out to Western Mass and started in Stockbridge and it was worth it. It's got the Norman Rockwell Museum, the Nomkeg Mansion, and the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy. You don't have to be into religion or anything to go to see that. There's a lot of beautiful architecture there. So those were my top five, but oh boy, here we go. What does ChatGPT think are the top five underrated New England cities and towns? I debated running all of this text that I got from ChatGPT through some kind of AI voice. And maybe I'll do a separate video where I do that. But for this right now, it's going to be me reading it. So let's do the ChatGPT top five, starting with their number one, Bennington, Vermont. According to ChatGPT, Bennington offers a blend of history, culture, and outdoor beauty. Visitors can explore... the Bennington Battle Monument, the Old First Church, and the Bennington Museum. The surrounding green mountains provide opportunities for hiking, skiing, and enjoying scenic drives along Vermont's back roads. A fun little side note about Bennington that I might never be able to share again on this podcast. In 2018, I did a couple of days trip out to the Berkshires and I had this big grand plan to get sunset photos in Massachusetts, Vermont and New York because I was right up in that corner where the three states borders intersect. I didn't know the best places to go to try to shoot the sunset. So I got no sunset photo in Massachusetts, none in New York, but I got one in Bennington, Vermont. So I went one for three. ChatGPT's number two is Portsmouth, New Hampshire. I don't find this underrated. This is one of my three favorite towns in all of New England, but I guess according to AI, it is underrated. It's reasoning. ChatGPT says Portsmouth's historic charm, bustling waterfront and vibrant art scene make it a delightful destination. Travelers can wander through Market Square, visit Strawberry Bank Museum to learn about the city's colonial history, and take scenic boat tours along the Piscataqua River. That's good. I would also throw in the Fort Constitution historical site and Portsmouth Lighthouse, even though they're temporarily closed, but go there when they're open. ChatGPT's number three is Stowe, Vermont. Again, I don't find this spot underrated, but what do I know? I'm not as smart as AI, I guess. ChatGPT says, why visit? Known for its world-class skiing in the winter, Stowe is a year-round destination offering outdoor adventures, picturesque landscapes, and charming village vibes. Visitors can hike through Smuggler's Notch State Park, bike along the Stowe Recreation Path, or explore local breweries and artisan shops. Well, wasn't that nice and concise? ChatGPT's number four, this one's kind of a little out of left field. It's Northampton, Massachusetts. This is out in Western Mass, out near UMass Amherst, just north of Springfield. ChatGPT says, Northampton's progressive atmosphere is Diverse culture and artistic community make it a unique destination. Travelers can browse independent bookstores, catch live music at cozy venues like the Parlor Room, or hike to the summit of Mount Tom for panoramic views of the Pioneer Valley. Finally, for ChatGPT's number five, finally we agree on something. Their number five is Rockport, Massachusetts. You already heard what I had to say about Rockport. ChachiPT says Rockport's scenic beauty, art galleries, and seafood cuisine make it a hidden gem on the Massachusetts coast. Visitors can explore the iconic motif number one, relax on Front Beach, or embark on a whale-watching tour from nearby Gloucester. No mention of shopping at Bearskin Neck, but you already heard me say it. So there you go, the end of me versus AI top five. Who had the better top five? You've got mine, Machias, Maine, Rockport, Massachusetts, New London, New Hampshire, Jamestown, Rhode Island, and Stockbridge, Massachusetts. Or you've got chat GPTs with Bennington, Vermont, Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Stowe, Vermont, Northampton, Massachusetts, and Rockport, Massachusetts. Let me know who you think won the me versus AI battle. And the next time I find a topic that's kind of appropriate for this, I'll bring it back again. But right now we're going to go from must-see underrated New England locations to a must-watch TV show from my childhood. TVs, bloopers, and practical jokes, ooh, coming up right now. When I think about the warm and fuzzy memories of growing up in the 1980s, there are a few certain things that pop into the front of my mind as soon as those memories come up. Certain activities, certain foods, certain music, and certain TV shows. What we're going to do right now is go way, way back in the day and look at one of those TV shows that was comfort food for my Gen X soul. That being the one and only TV's bloopers and practical jokes.

Speaker 01:

You

Speaker 00:

knew I wouldn't start this segment off without the music for any of you that remember the show. This was kind of an unscripted reality show, I guess, showing you behind the scenes of a lot of the TV shows at the time. And any practical jokes. They were more light-hearted. There was nothing mean and cruel like you see sometimes today. The show premiered on January 9th, 1984. And it's had a couple of reboots. I'm only talking about the first installment of this show. 1984 to 86. It was hosted by two legends. Dick Clark and Ed McMahon. You already heard the music. You may also remember the animated characters... drawn by Sergio Aragones, who was from Mad Magazine. If you didn't know that, go and find clips of bloopers and practical jokes on YouTube, and when you see these animated characters, some would come in sweeping away the last scene or things like that. Now you'll notice how it looks like stuff from Mad Magazine. TV's bloopers and practical jokes actually came out of the ashes of a couple of other ideas. There was the TV censored bloopers show that was hosted by Dick Clark. Those started in May 1981. And there were the television's greatest commercials specials that were hosted by Ed McMahon. Those began in May 1982. So it's sort of like a mashup of both of those ideas into this pioneering blend of hilarious practical jokes, candid camera, and bloopers. Things you didn't see on TV at the time. Granted, it wasn't the first reality show or prank show. That goes with Candid Camera, and I'm going to do a deep dive into that show at some point in the podcast. For me, this show was appointment viewing. It was always fun to get to laugh at celebrities or see them put in these awkward situations. That was one of the defining features of the show. The seamless integration of bloopers and practical jokes. And you had the live studio audience there to laugh. They even did stand-up comedy on some of the shows. Jerry Seinfeld was on it doing stand-up. Man on the Street interviews, or sometimes Child on the Street, but David Letterman did those, and later Robert Klein. This is where I got to learn about a lot of celebrities that I didn't know who were on there either getting embarrassed with practical jokes or were in the bloopers. People like Johnny Carson or Phyllis Diller or Soupy Sales or Ann Jillian. Now in a world where you have access to all of these bloopers and outtakes, it was something new to see behind the scenes of TV shows you watched. And it kind of gave you an appreciation for how hard acting was, how many times they would screw up scenes and have to redo them. It actually revealed the lighter side of celebrities, showcased their human side, their quirks, and their flaws behind that polished veneer of stardom that they have. It was fun when they would set up these practical jokes where the celebrities were the unwitting targets of elaborate pranks. They'd have a stop motion, a picture of someone, whoever the victim was, and the typewriter would have their name come up and explain who they were. and then also explain who the accomplices were in on the prank.

Speaker 02:

The victim, Laura Branigan. She thinks she's going to see a play about the French singer Edith Pia, a subject in which she's very interested. Accomplice number one, Susan Joseph, Laura's manager. She's going along with Laura to see this completely phony play. Accomplice number two, Tony Mandy, a top executive with Atlantic Records. He's helped us set up Laura for the joke.

Speaker 00:

You'd get things like fake auditions or staged encounters with crazy people. What I appreciated was the fact that even though there were these pranks that were definitely could be stressful situations, these celebrities, they never got angry. At least not angry in the way that they would start fighting with the people that were supposed to be in on the joke. Some of the most memorable moments from bloopers and practical jokes have been ingrained in pop culture history. There was an iconic prank that had Ed McMahon pretending to be a waiter at a fancy restaurant. There was one where Dick Clark orchestrated a fake news broadcast with celebrities like Lucille Ball and Milton Berle delivering absurd weather reports and sports updates, but with deadpan sincerity. Perhaps the most famous prank of all was the one that was played on Johnny Carson. Where Carson was led to believe that he had accidentally set his studio on fire during a taping of The Tonight Show. And he's just totally panicked. But then they reveal the prank and everyone's laughing. And even he's just relieved that he didn't burn down his studio. I think at times the show made you feel bad for celebrities. These people that have all the money in the world and all the fame they could want. It was lighthearted. There was laughter. It was behind the scenes. For me, I love the bloopers and I love the old commercials and such. They would show funny commercials. The weekly show was only on for two years, going off the air in 1986. For me, it felt like there were way more episodes. And I think that's because Dick Clark revived the show as super bloopers and practical jokes in 1988. So it was specials. It wasn't a weekly show. But by that time, it had been streamlined. There was no more music. There was no more man on the street or stand-up comedy or commercials. It was just bloopers and practical jokes. That's it. It's a fun snapshot of the 80s because all the celebrities, all the TV shows, they were the big ones at the time. Some of them stood the test of time. Some of them didn't. So seeing them being pranked as celebrities, as people that faded away... As successful as Bloopers and Practical Jokes was, it was naturally going to draw some competition or imitators. So Bloopers and Practical Jokes was on NBC. ABC had to come up with their own rival show called Foul Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders.

Speaker 02:

Tuesday, if they blow it, we'll show it. On follow-ups. What is known as instant readiness. Leaps. And I'm talking about personal contact in a... And blunders. Follow-ups, leaps, and blunders right before happy days.

Speaker 00:

Tuesday. This show was hosted by Steve Lawrence and Don Rickles. And because they couldn't use bloopers because it was on the other show, they had to use foul-ups and blunders. The show debuted on January 10th, 1984, and although it ran for two seasons, it only ran for really one full season, and by October of 84, because it wasn't doing well, it was then used as filler programming when they needed something. Interestingly, ABC was worried about having Don Rickles as the co-host of Foul Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders, because he was known for his personal, insult, offensive comedy. And the people actually had to reshoot some of the original show without Don Rickles because they feared that they'd be offending their audience. Ironically, the ratings in the initial first few shows were huge because people tuned in to see what Don Rickles might say. So it's almost like the show might have been a bigger hit if they hadn't put Don Rickles on a leash. The biggest thing that Foul Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders was known for was William Shatner introducing a collection of bloopers from the original Star Trek that had never been seen before. Even though Foul Ups, Bleeps, and Blunders ended up being quickly cancelled, I mean it was gone in 1985, that combined with bloopers and practical jokes showed there was an audience for those outtakes and for pranks and just random light-hearted humor. And those two shows were definitely influences on future kind of candid reality shows like Punk'd. Those of you out there that are my age, did you watch TV's bloopers and practical jokes? Or did you watch foul-ups, bleeps, and blunders? I tried to find little clips here to throw in for those of you that have never heard of either show. Which, that was fun for me, to get to go back and watch... little clips of this show that I remember so fondly as a kid. And yeah, you can find episodes, full episodes, clips of both of those shows all over YouTube. They're easy to find. So you can take a trip back 40 years ago, watch celebrities of the day get pranked and bloopers and Dick Clark and Ed McMahon. And oh, it's so much 80s nostalgia.

Unknown:

So

Speaker 00:

But until next time, that is going to wrap up episode 146 of the podcast. That is not a practical joke. The show is actually ending. We'll celebrate the end of the podcast with opening a cold one. Ooh, there it is. Like I said, energy drink. My God, don't worry. Thank you so much to all of you for tuning in. Thank you so much for sharing the podcast, rating it, reviewing it. Things like that go a long way to get more eyes and ears on what I do. I love doing all this content creation. The podcast, the writing, the blogs, YouTube videos. And it's natural for the person that creates the product to say it's great. So it means even more when others come forward and say that. If you want to become a Patreon subscriber, you can go to patreon.com slash inmyfootstepspodcast. I'm adding more stuff to the free tier over there so you don't have to become a subscriber if $5 a month isn't feasible. I totally understand. Tune in next week for episode 147. There's going to be a segment I've been waiting to do for a few weeks. I had to find the room in the podcast schedule. I'm going to review a documentary, a mini documentary, and dive into the wacky mascot that pretty much killed a fast food restaurant. It'll be the story of Mr. Delicious and how he ruined Rack's roast beef. I cannot wait for that. It's going to be so much fun to share with you. If you're interested in any of my nine books, visit my website, ChristopherSatterlund.com. It's got links to all those books. I'll keep you posted when I've got more book events, what books are going to be talked about. Visit theladyofthedoons.com, the website I created where you can Learn all about the infamous Cape Cod murder case from 50 years ago. You can watch Frank Durant's amazing documentary for free. And you can also purchase a copy of my Searching for the Lady of the Dunes book. If you're into random daily life humor, tales from the ordinary, check out Initial Impressions 2.0, my blog. I'm still working on creating this into another podcast, whether it's video or whether it's audio. Obviously you'll know once it's out, but until then you can always read the blog. It's every week. Funny, random stuff that happens to me or thoughts that pop in my head. All of you out there, I think, have random events that happen to you or funny, random, maybe sometimes poignant thoughts. I'm the one that actually writes them down. Before I get up out of here, I wanted to take a moment to wish a happy 25th birthday to my oldest niece, Kaylee. Her Etsy business, Hooked by Kiwi, is always linked in the description of the podcast. It's her talents with crocheting. I highly recommend you give that a click and check out her work. But it's a weird dichotomy for Kaylee to be 25, but for me to remember the day she was born where I'm at that age now. Back then I had two earrings, an eyebrow ring, I was wearing hemp necklaces, and I was trying to bleach my hair, but it was more orange. I was a whopping 21 years old when I became an uncle. I used to walk around the mall or wherever with my sister Kate, Kaylee's mom. People would think that I was her father, which my sister would just hate. She would be ready to puke. It's one of those things that even though I have hundreds and thousands of memories of so many times as Kaylee has grown up from a baby to now a young woman, it still can be bittersweet. Like I wish I had more moments, if that makes sense. I know especially with Kaylee and her sister Emma, I'm constantly trying not to say how weird it is that they're grown up now. and become that sad old man wishing for the old days. I try to walk that fine line of nostalgia and then getting them flooded with me looking for my past youth. That's my long-winded way of wishing Kaylee a happy 25th birthday. I'm very proud of who you are, all you've done, and I'm very grateful and blessed that you are part of my family. And as for the rest of you listening, I'm very grateful and blessed that you take time out of your week to listen to my passion project, sometimes rambly, sometimes foolish, look at Gen X nostalgia, things from my life that I enjoy that I hope you enjoy as well. Creating this is so much fun and it's good for my mental health. I hope it helps your mental health as well. But until next time, folks, remember, In this life, don't walk in anyone else's footsteps. Create your own path and enjoy every moment you can on this journey we call life because you never know what tomorrow brings. I'm going to chug down the rest of my energy drink and wrap this up by saying this has been the In My Footsteps podcast. I am Christopher Setterlund. You already knew that. And I'll talk to you all again soon.

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Christopher Setterlund

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